Razer Lachesis

Do you remember your first car? If your experience was similar to mine, the vehicle wasn’t top of the line. Sure, it enabled you to have a social life and kept you from riding the bus, but it wasn’t your dream car. That is how I now look at my old mouse. I have been using a bottom-rung 2-button mouse for years but recently was given the opportunity to review a Razer Lachesis.

The name Razer carries a reputation and tradition of quality. That was apparent to me as soon as I opened the box. In addition to the product card and quick start guide you’ll also find a certificate of authenticity and two stickers of the Razer logo. I felt like I was getting a premium product before I even touched the mouse.

With all of the attention to detail in the packaging, I was confused by the lack of drivers in the box. I understand that putting a CD in the box may seem old-fashioned, but you need the software to get the most out of the mouse. Instead of requiring the driver download, why not put them on a small thumb drive or mini-CD with a few other extras? I jumped online, grabbed the drivers and software, and plugged in the mouse.

Gamers looking for a new mouse are in for a well-crafted treat. The braided cable is seven feet long, which is more than generous and sufficient to make it from my PC to desktop. In all, the Razer Lachesis boasts 9 buttons: two main, the mouse wheel, two just below the mouse wheel, and two thumb buttons on both sides of the mouse. All buttons have a nice tactile feel and respond immediately when pressed. I especially loved the rubber on the mouse wheel which enabled problem-free scrolling with no slipping.

The design allows use by both right and left-handed players; this may be a nice selling point but effectively makes two of the buttons unusable. I like the placement of the buttons under my thumb but my ring finger and pinky don’t line up with the two on the right side of the mouse. It’s obvious that Razer knows the two buttons opposite your thumb are not easily accessible because they are turned off by default.

I also was really impressed with the software that is used to adjust sensitivity, assign button functions, change the LED colors, and more. It uses a simple drop-down menu for each clearly identified button to change the result of clicking. This is also where you’ll set up the mouse sensitivity options and polling rates. The Razer Lachesis allows five different preset levels of DPI sensitivity, from 1000 to 5600. The high setting is too much for most applications but I’ve used it in a few different settings, both in-game and out. I found the tracking of the mouse to be extremely accurate and have had absolutely zero problems with it in the last few weeks.The buttons under the mouse wheel allow you to cycle through the levels that you have defined. I found it perfect for raising and lowering the resolution when switching between weapons like the sniper rifle, shotgun, and standard pistol. You can even assign a button to use “on-the-fly sensitivity” adjustments – this allows you to press the button and then use the mouse wheel to adjust the DPI in increments of 100 for fine-tuning.

A couple of other features that are worth mentioning are macros and profiles. Gamers that need macros are aware of how useful they can be; Razer’s software make recording macros and assigning them to any of the buttons extremely simple. It will be extremely useful for anyone playing an MMO or other game that requires repetitive button presses.

The profile option would be perfect for a number of situations. Imagine being right handed while your significant other is a south paw. If you are both gamers, hitting the button on the bottom of the mouse before a gaming session will enable you both to have your own button configuration. Or, there is an option for different profiles to automatically be used when running specific applications. The usefulness of this feature is only starting to become apparent as I continue to use the mouse.

It is even possible to change the colors of the LEDs on your mouse, both the mouse wheel and the Razer logo that sits underneath your palm when holding the mouse. The side of the box promises 16 million color options. I’m going to say that the LEDs aren’t that sensitive but there are more than enough color options to give you a mouse that customized to you. You can change the colors of mouse wheel and logo independently, too. I find it interesting that the Razer logo pulsates on and off but that you can’t turn it to “always on” or “always off.”

I was very impressed with the Razer Lachesis. It’s shown me that the “standard mouse” has been improved. Not only does it track well at all sensitivity levels, but it’s easy to use macros, re-assign buttons, and switch profiles. However, I’m annoyed that I can’t comfortably use all buttons on the mouse; there are always two that are just out of reach. I also don’t understand why they use premium packaging but leave out the software that’s required to use the product. While it’s not a perfect mouse, it does just about everything right even though you’ll be paying a premium (MSRP $79.99) to receive it.

The price is a little higher than an average mouse but so is the feature list. It works flawlessly and has plenty of customization options. Be aware there are really only 7 usable buttons within reach.

Rating: 9 Excellent

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company for review.

About Author

My real gaming roots started with the NES at a young age. This meant little money and a lot of time, which resulted in making the most of a few classic titles like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Zelda 1 & 2. I've always played PC games from Wolfenstein 3D and StarCraft to EverQuest and Monkey Island.

Flash forward 20 years and you'll find my entertainment center home to a PS3 and Wii, but my PC will always have a special place in my heart. When it comes to genres, I play anything that I can get my hands on but prefer games with good story and healthy adventure. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions, and The Ballare my favorite games of the recent past.

There are only a handful of games that I actually go back and revisit multiple times as my "gaming mood" constantly changes. As such, I'm willing to play anything with an open mind to see what it has to offer. I've been contributing to GamingNexus since Fall 2009. I thoroughly enjoy having an outlet for my opinions and hope you enjoy reading them. Drop me a line if you are in the mood; I love feedback!